I often get contacted by students-high school, college and graduate-inquiring about how to become a therapist or individuals seeking employment, this page is for those persons to provide clear information.
In order to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of NC which allows an individual to practice therapy, one must obtain an Undergraduate Degree, a Masters Degree from an accredited university Social Work program and then they may seek Provisional Licensure from the NC Social Work Licensing Board:
The licensure process for the LCSW is discussed in detail here.
This involves obtaining clinical supervision, passing a licensure exam, 2 years post masters experience, 3000 of clinical experience and 100 hours of clinical supervision.
I often get calls or emails requesting practicum experience, shadowing or employment so I wanted to provide clear factual information about this:
I am unable to provide an environment for a practicum for students
I am also unable to provide shadowing of therapy sessions due to confidentiality
From time to time I may be looking to hire individuals who have significant experience in working with very young children. Please be aware that this practice utilizes Play Therapy techniques in working with children and only employs therapists who are well versed in Play Therapy. We do not provide Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or other traditional ‘talk therapy’ models with children aged 10 and under. If you have training and experience in one or more of the following techniques I would love to hear from you:
-Theraplay®
-Filial Therapy
-Child Centered/Non Directive Play Therapy
-Sandtray or Sandplay
-Prescriptive Play Therapy
-Adlerian Play Therapy
If you are seeking practicum experience I would encourage students to speak with their university or program to find these opportunities
For individuals seeking more information about Play Therapy here are some informational links:
National Association for Play Therapy has links to nationwide trainings, online training opportunities, research and plenty of information about Play Therapy. The Annual Play Therapy conference occurs each year in October and features almost a week of Play Therapy training with presenters from all over the world!
NC Chapter of Association for Play Therapy-our chapter provides at least 2 trainings a year, one in the Spring (March) and one in the fall (October), these are great opportunities to obtain local training in Play Therapy
http://education.uncc.edu/playtherapy/ The University of NC-Charlotte has an amazing center for Play Therapy and provides training and a graduate certificate in Play Therapy, these are great opportunities for training for potential Play Therapists
www.theraplay.org –Theraplay® is a technique that I employ in my practice and which is an extremely effective mode of Play Therapy, the Theraplay website provides excellent information and research on the technique and also details training opportunities for potential or current Play Therapists. I highly recommend the Theraplay training for any therapist working with children and families.
Garry Landreth is sometimes regarded as the ‘Founding Father of Play Therapy’ he has revolutionized the field and founded the University of North Texas Play Therapy Center which provides excellent training opportunities with some of the leading researchers and experts in the field of Play Therapy, they offer a summer institute each year: http://cpt.unt.edu/
Bruce Perry is a leading researcher in the trauma field, his website provides fantastic information and research on child trauma and also details his method of NMT-Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics: